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This past Sunday, Jessica and I attended Toronto’s first ever Cupcake Camp.

Photo credit: A Baked Creation

Whatever you may be thinking, you’re probably correct – a whole bunch of people getting together who love to bake and eat cupcakes, who found each other online, following the example of the original Cupcake Camp started in San Francisco.  (FYI, Cupcake Camp is going on the road to Ottawa, due to set up on March 29th, ‘09, details to follow.)

The event took place on Toronto’s south-east side, in a gallery space filled to the gills with cupcakes, cupcake bakers and cupcake eaters.   

Jessica and I were invited to be the judges. What we didn’t consider is just how many people were willing to bake cupcakes for this event, which charged cupcake eaters $5 admission. I can’t imagine it was a huge financial incentive for the cupcake bakers, but there were approximately 50 bakers that participated (with love, I might add.)  

That’s right, that’s 50 cupcakes to taste!

Now, I like to be smart about what I eat – watching my sugar/fat/carbohydrate intake – but as you may yourself know, it is precisely people like myself who, at the mere mention of dessert, burn a little flame in their pupils that grows hotter and crazier unless abated with sugar.  

Well, I got exactly what I wished for, along with a massive sugar crash headache.  Thankfully, not every cupcake was entered into the contest – that was not mandatory – but however many dozens I ingested was enough to overwhelm my body, which has never processed this much sugar in one sitting.

But really, I’m not complaining. I may have sworn off cupcakes as I polished off half a jar of pickles when I got home (no joke), but putting together this gallery of photos made me yearn for them all over again – so many of them were so good!  And the crazy thing was that most of the bakers were not even professionals!  

Here’s the dizzying gallery.  Enjoy!

Of the many, many great “cuppies” – official lingo of the trade – only five were selected to be the winners:

• Best in Show: A tie between “The Monkeys” by Andjoa Duncan and “Caffe Latte” by Christine Truong
• Best Twist on a Classic: Vegan/Gluten Free Vanilla Bean with Macadamia and White Chocolate by Michelle Bodner
• Best Flavour Combination:  Black Sesame with Matcha Icing by Andrea
• Best Dessert Inspired: Vanilla Cheesecake Crunch by Heather Williams
• Best Classic (a category we added but it was not upheld by the Cupcake Camp councilors): “Red Velvet with Vanilla Buttercream” by Amber Morden

See Cupcake Camp’s Winners post.

Related: Martha Stewart Living, the Valentines Day edition

Source:Forget Vacation, Go To Cupcake Camp!